Doug E Fresh Opens Restaurant In Harlem

Besides being hip-hop sensations, what do P. Diddy, Jay-Z and Doug E. Fresh have in common? Well, now with the entry of Fresh into the eatery business, they are all NYC restaurateurs.

Fresh recently debuted his new Harlem restaurant, Doug E.´s, in hopes of reviving his hometown community. The 25-year hip-hop veteran opened the food hot spot on 132nd Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. It´s the latest in a long line of celebrity restaurants in the Big Apple, but one of a handful owned by a hip-hop entrepreneur. In 1997, Sean P. Diddy Combs opened a nouveau soul food restaurant called Justin`s in NYC and Atlanta in 1998. Then in 2003, Jay-Z selected a sports bar/restaurant called 40/40 Club for his entry into the industry. A line of others followed across the country. But both Diddy and Jay-Z have had problems. Diddy eventually shuttered Justin´s NYC after 10 years in 2007, announcing he would reopen at a larger location–a proclamation that was never realized. And Jay-Z´s chain has had closings, lawsuits and other financial snags over the years.

But Fresh, whose restaurant serves Soul and Caribbean food, seems to be taking a different route. Instead of the launch of a mega chain, he is emphasizing the community base. He announced to the press that he wanted to staff students after school in order to give them work experience and a place to go instead of the streets. (Read More)